Jan and Dean

Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean in 1964
Jan and Dean in 1964
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active
  • 1958–1968
  • 1973
  • 1976–2004
Labels
Past members
  • Jan Berry
  • Dean Torrence
Websitejananddean.com

Jan and Dean were an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004)[1] and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles popularized by the Beach Boys.

Among their most successful songs was 1963's "Surf City", the first surf song ever to reach the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US.[2] Their other charting top 10 singles were "Baby Talk" (1959),[3] "Drag City" (1963),[3] "Dead Man's Curve" (1964; inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008,[4])[2][3] and "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)" (1964).[2][3]

In 1972, Torrence won the Grammy Award for Best Album Cover for the psychedelic rock band Pollution's first eponymous 1971 album,[5] and was nominated three other times in the same category for albums of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. In 2013, Torrence's design contribution of the Surf City Allstars' In Concert CD was named a Silver Award of Distinction at the Communicator Awards competition.[6]

  1. ^ Billboard Staff; The Associated Press (March 29, 2004). "Berry, Half of Surf Duo, Jan & Dean, Dies". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Billboard Staff. "61 years ago this week, Jan & Dean's "Surf City" became the first surf song to hit No. 1 on the #Hot100". Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jan and Dean Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Internet Archive: Billboard/Internet Archive. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "Jan & Dean - Official Jan Berry Website - Dead Man's Curve / The New Girl In School". Jananddean-janberry.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
  5. ^ "Pollution (3) - Pollution (Vinyl, LP) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-08-23.
  6. ^ "Winners". Communicator Awards. Retrieved 2014-08-23.